


Protected

by Nunchi_Writes



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood, Bodyguard, F/M, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2019-09-22 08:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17056454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nunchi_Writes/pseuds/Nunchi_Writes
Summary: “I said get down!" The shout was all too clear this time, as you noticed a tiny red spec flickering on your collarbone. Before your reflexes had the second needed to react, you felt the force of a car slam into your gut, sending you crashing to the ground with the weight of another body on top of you.Not a millisecond later, another plink had sounded through the glass, as a bullet whizzed in the trajectory following directly where you had been standing."You idiot!"The Courier had pushed you. And now he was looking at you directly in the eye.His eyes…





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Blood, violence, death, language

The blood… it was  _everywhere_ …

Your eyes felt like cinderblocks: Dry. Heavy. Unmoving.

The blood _; was it yours?_

As you tried to move your body, you were met with a painful realization: you were laying in a pool of blood, and, as you tried to gather any scrap of information about your surroundings, you found yourself to be utterly immobile. You collected every fiber of your willpower to pry your eyes open just long enough to scan your approximate area. Your breathing quickened and you fidgeted in panic once you saw something vertically, fatally lodged in your abdomen.

_Glass._

Your figure remained a solid brick regardless of your willful attempts to budge even the slightest. You felt a strange presence of heat to the left of your body as a faint light danced out of the corner of your vision.

_Fire. There’s a fire._

You desperately began to try bringing awareness to the rest of your muscles. With needle-like pain shooting through the rest of your limbs, you warily sat up.

You were inside a building.

_No…_

The realization hit you and began to cause your lungs to tighten.

This was your  _parents_ ’  _house_ , and fire had begun to consume small objects and the lining of several curtains outlining door frames and windows.. A mortifying amount of chaos was happening around you, and yet, you found yourself unable to react to all of it at once, as if time had slowed down a considerable amount.

You looked across the floor a few meters in front of you and noticed three black, unmoving piles of rubble.

_…Rubble?_

_…No._

Your stomach lurched and you compulsively began to vomit up blood, the world falling into slow motion around you.

_Those are-… It can’t be._

Another spurt of blood erupted as your body as a result of your injury, and you trembled violently.

Two lifeless bodies were lying closely together around a smaller one. The world around you became opaque as your eyes brimmed with liquid. You wanted to shout out to the motionless figures strewn across the floor, but it was impossible for any noise to leave your fractured vocal chords.

You told yourself that they would be okay. That they  _had_ to be okay. You attempted to scream in their direction, yet not a sound came out. You felt as though your voice had been stolen when you needed it the most.

You looked down at the blood on your hands, and came to realize that the crimson essence had consumed  _everything_.

Your arms, your shirt, your legs, your hair; all of it was drenched in liquid agony.

**_Crunch…_ **

The sudden sound of someone stepping on broken glass broke you from your state of hysteria.

_Someone was here._

Your pulse quickened and your mind raced as you desperately tried to stand. But as you reached for something to pull yourself upon, you tripped in the pool of your own blood. First your hands slipped in an attempt to grasp the top of a flat surface, then your feet as they struggled to find friction.

You quickly gave up and exhorted all of your remaining energy towards climbing across the hardwood floor. The blood had touched every part of the household like a hellish, oozing fog, and every attempt to pull yourself along the slick, shiny floor was being met with slippery failure.

The wind blew through a large, door-length window, revealing a bright moon and a oceanic night sky. It picked up the blood-stained curtains, beckoning you to escape.

_Just make it to the window, (Y/N)._

**_Crunch…_ **

You heard the terrifying noise again, this time within the same room as you. You quickened your pace as you drug yourself along, practically sliding across the floor and leaving a thick coat of blood in your wake.

_I… Can’t let it end like this… I’ve seen too much._

**_Crunch…_ **

“Looks like he missed one.” A deep voice, more than a few octaves lower than your own, muttered in monotone.

Your body trembled, as you were too weak to turn around and face who spoke those words. A sharp boot firmly came down upon your right leg, preventing you from continuing forward to your escape.

“It’s a real shame.”

Your eyes began to tear up as thoughts of urgent self-preservation flooded your mind. You summoned all the remaining strength within you.

“Please.” You wondered if it was even audible to the intruder.

You felt the pressure of gruff, firm hands reaching down and latching themselves onto your torso, and with it, unimaginable pain.

“I don’t envy the blood on your conscience… I-” What seemed to be your final words were cut off as you vomited a sticky red pool from your lungs. “I won’t be able to give you anything you want-”

You gasped for air, still clawing desperately at the ground in resistance to the intruder, your eyes still on the open window.

“I’ll forgive you, so please… If you’re going to kill me, just do it now, and do it quickly.”

The hands froze around your hips, and the full minute that passed by in silence seemed like an eternity. Eventually, the foreign touch continued to feel its way around your shoulder blades and down your spine. Your consciousness quickly began to drift from what you could only assume was the blood loss. The scattered thoughts in your brain clung to existence as your mind began its descent into the void..

You no longer felt the pressure of the floor against your stomach. Instead, you were being flipped onto your back, the feeling of secure arms underneath your neck and legs.

_…Please-_

The weight of your head slunk back against the shoulders of the stranger who had picked up your motionless form with little effort.

Your consciousness faded into the void faster than you thought it would, but before darkness finally enveloped your vision, you could make out a black silhouette of the face of the man who held you in his arms…

* * *

 

“YOU  _WHAT_!?” You slammed your hands on the hard wooden desk, papers flying at your outrage.

 

“I wouldn’t be assigning you if I had a choice, (l/n). The last attempt on candidate Do Kyungsoo’s life ended with eight of our team members in the hospital.  _Eight_. We don’t  _have_ anyone else to assign.”

 

It was your first day on the job. Your first day on your new job as a bodyguard working for the government, and your boss was telling you to protect a presidential candidate. And not just any candidate at that, but  _him_? You knew it was a possibility, of course, considering you were hired to work at the Blue House, protecting any important political figure they deemed fit to assign you.

 

But this was  _Do Kyungsoo._

_  
_

Your boss abruptly brought you back to reality, “I’m sure you’re not only aware of him being one of the top two candidates to run for presidential office, but also that he has had two attempts on his life already.”

 

“ _Painfully_ ,” you answered through gritted teeth.

 

“Then you also understand that it’s the reason we need everyone on detail this week. He is planning to have four major appearances and we don’t have time to hire an entire private task force.”

 

“But sir-” You try to interject.

 

“I’m aware he has his own private security team, but we are legally mandated to assign Blue House personnel to his detail as well. Since our only two free backup employees are on duty for Mr. Do’s opposing candidate, Mr. Lu Han, that leaves  _you_ and only  _you_ for this assignment.”

 

 _Sadistically charismatic, cold, calculative, yet unmistakably charming_. These were the words that paralleled Do Kyungsoo.

 

You try to open your mouth for another rebuttal, but your boss stops you.

 

“This is not a request, (l/n). Your detail begins at O’ six hundred tomorrow morning before his scheduled rally at O’ seven hundred, is this that clear?”

 

As inexplicably uncomfortable you were with this setup, you just landed one of the most financially stable jobs you could, and through an extensive amount of hard work, you had been accepted. Not only that, you knew that you couldn’t find another job opening for someone with your skill quick enough to support you.

 

You took a deep breath, knowing the few moments spent on the inhale would be the last few seconds of freedom for a long while.

 

“Crystal, sir.”

* * *

 

 

> **6:15am**

 

_Where the hell is he?_

 

You tapped your foot repeatedly and pushed up the sleeve of your black dress-suit to check the time.

 

_His scheduled check-in was only supposed to last fifteen minutes._

_  
_

You mentally kicked yourself for choosing to wait outside the closed-off section of the pricy business hotel, but after remembering the extensive, yet strangely professional fuss Mr. Do gave you to wait at this particular spot, you couldn’t exactly wave your Blue House ID card and magically negate whatever he told you to do.

 

This man held too much power for that.

 

You begin to pace a few steps to the right and left of your original position in an agitated fashion, remembering how the encounter went. Every word out of Kyungsoo’s mouth sent chills down your spine, and your brain had never been so confused as whether to be frozen in terror, or completely enthralled. Either way, he had a way of taking you completely under his spell. The extensive psychological training you underwent to be hired for this position  meant absolutely nothing to him. You doubted anything meant much to him other than his achievement of power, and money. The citizens merely saw his mesmerizing ability to speak like he could solve the entire world’s problems, and for all you knew he very well could. However, You knew he had a dark side. This was politics: every candidate did, and you were pretty good at getting a read on what exactly that side entailed.

 

That’s what scared you the most; you could decipher this guy’s internal code as well as you could a brick wall.

 

“Geez, (l/n), chill out. You’re acting so tense it’s making me want to jump out the window.”

 

_Kim Minseok._

_  
_

The only other available guard on detail who was just as unlucky as you were. He had been pulled last minute from Lu Han’s force, since everyone at the Blue House thought it suspicious that you, a single,  _female_ guard, had been assigned alone. Minseok was abnormally attractive, at least as far as you knew in this line of work. His raven-colored hair was gelled back and parted in a way that made him seem much younger than he was. You learned from minimal conversation earlier that he was just a few years older than you, and had been on this job way longer. He normally had a very sanguine and relaxed demeanor, but with the assigned candidate running nearly twenty minutes late from his scheduled return, you could tell he was on edge.

 

“Listen, Minseok, I don’t like this. I know in training they give you the whole ‘stick-to-procedure-under-penalty-of-death’ spiel, but if it’s between my job license and this guy’s life, the choice is clear. I can’t afford to be wrong.”

 

Minseok looked like he was going through some intense internal conflict about how to act upon hearing your statement, so you comforted him.

 

“Don’t worry, if something goes wrong and we’re caught,  _you_ were in the bathroom, and  _I_  was either insane for breaking protocol, or genius for saving this man’s life.”

 

Minseok looked at the floor, sighed, and nodded.

 

“Radio me in if you notice  _anything_ out of the ordinary, okay?” He said with eyes full of concern.

 

You gave him a reassuring smile and a wink as you opened the eight-inch-thick glass doors leading into the center of the labyrinth of a hotel. You drew the Glock from your jacket holster and kept it pointed towards the ground as you navigated the thirty-something hallways that were supposed to lead you to the inner office suite. As you made your excursion through the repeating orange, brown, and yellow patterned halls in dead silence, you couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was…  _watching_ you. You told yourself that it was nearly impossible, considering you were moving quickly  through desolate, empty hallways, and there were  no doors or windows. Not to mention the fact that you had been trained for this, and you couldn’t hear even the faintest of footsteps other than your own.

 

You disregarded the feeling, even though it clawed at your stomach incessantly.

 

 _Was is right or left?_ You approached a fork in the corridor, mentally hitting yourself for forgetting the most basic piece of information in such a cliché way. You decided you could always backtrack and choose the other route if you got too lost, but in the moments you were pondering which direction to turn you could’ve sworn you felt a faint  _breath_ behind your right ear. You involuntarily shuddered and within a half second you were turned around in the opposite direction, handgun raised and pointed in a deadly position that was ready to strike down an attacker. You were surprised beyond words when no one was behind you. You knew for a fact that the air con unit in the building was off, and Minseok hadn’t followed you; you would’ve heard him.

 

_So where the hell did that come from?_

 

You glanced at your watch and noticed the amount of time that had passed. It had been forty-five minutes since Do Kyungsoo had been scheduled to return, and  _fifteen_ minutes until the rally would start. You shook off the incident and ran left around the corner.

 

It felt like you had been sprinting down the hallway for hours before you heard the murmurs of a conversation. You slowed your speed as you neared the office where the source of the noise came from, but before your brain could fully register the transition of your speed you heard a deafening  _crash_ and the heavy shattering of glass. Your grip on our handgun tightened and you ran up to the solid, black, double wooden doors, pressing your back against them. The coldness of the thick door countered the sweat that had accumulated under the back of your dress clothes.

 

Just as soon as you were about to burst through the door, guns blazing in the most literal sense, you picked up dialogue that made your heart freeze inside your rib cage painfully.

 

“If you don’t give me what I want right now, I swear I will go public with  _everything_. Your drug distributors, your human trafficking, your weapon smuggling, _all of it._ ”

 

The man talking certainly wasn’t Do Kyungsoo, and despite his enraged outburst, his rapid, unrhythmic breathing told you that the man who just spoke wasn’t in control of this conversation.

 

“Oh, come now Taewook, are you saying you’re honestly going to betray me just because I have one of your daughters in one of my institutions?”

 

 _That_ voice was Do Kyungsoo’s: deep, intimidating, unnerving. The way he said such a disturbing sentence so jokingly unhinged your sanity, and your fundamental instinct was sending bright red flags to your brain, ordering you to get the hell out of there.

 

“ _One_ of my daughters?” the second man, Taewook, apparently, was audibly crying at this point. You could tell by the shaking of his voice.

 

“She was the only goddamn thing left in my life and you’re taking advantage of her as one of your sex slaves! Just to keep me from coming forward about recording your history on the black market. Well, I’ve had enough!”

 

Your heart leaped up your throat as you heard the rapid click of a gun as it  chambered rounds. You cracked one of the two ballroom doors open just enough to get a glimpse of the scene.

 

“It’s obvious you won’t free her, or me, from your little circle of hell, so you’ve left me with only one choice.”

 

An ear shattering bang sounded right after the man finished his sentence. Dark red fluid slid between the slim crack in the door, landing in a splat on your cheek. You fell to the floor outside the office and dragged yourself back to the crack in the door to see the aftermath of the noise.

 

_A dead body._

_  
_

_And it wasn’t Kyungsoo’s._

 

Your body was trembling as you saw Do Kyungsoo himself standing as-calm-as-could-be in front of a limp corpse, of whom you assumed to be the one called Taewook. You shifted your gaze to the right, witnessing the other man in the room; his gun still held in the position it was fired in.

 

The killer was none other than Kyungsoo’s dark haired, sturdily built, right hand henchman.

 

Jongin.  _Kim_ Jongin.

His complete silence made you feel uneasy when you first met, but it flew past your subconscious, as being quiet was a basic necessity in any form of being a bodyguard. Still, it sent shivers down your spine when you had met him, because everything about this man was just…  _dark_. Dark hair, dark eyes, even a menacingly toned body that was evident even through his slim business suit.

 

His ominous aura and the suspicions you had of him were only made significantly more horrifying by the fact he had just shot another man in the head with a PP-K.

 

Kyungsoo brushed off the sleeve of his dress shirt and glanced at his watch as he sighed nonchalantly.

 

“The Blue House guard dogs should be sniffing around anxiously by now, considering my rally begins in 10 minutes.”

 

 _What the hell am I supposed to do?_  You thought to yourself in a panic.

 

No one would believe what you just saw, and seeing how Kyungsoo and Jongin reacted to blatantly murdering someone, any evidence of your attempted insurgence would be dealt with immediately, and swept under the rug without a trace.

 

“Get rid of the body, would you, Jongin?” His voice still oozed with a deceptively optimistic tone.

 

You didn’t need to hear another word before you picked up your feet and got the hell out of there. Your mind replayed the grotesque scene in your mind over and over, your brain pleading insanity over the much more serious alternative.

 

Within two minutes you had neared the stationed post, and you witnessed a very worried Minseok pacing back and forth. You took several long, deep breaths as you walked up behind the glass door.

 

_Whatever the hell just went down, it has to wait until this is over. No one will believe you, (y/n), and no one will notice once you’ve been picked off in the dead of night if they realize what you’ve seen._

 

“What in blue blazes took you so long! I told you to radio me as soon as anything happened!” Minseok was frantic, “Did something happen? Was there another assassination attempt? Where is he?”

 

You opened your mouth to speak, but were interrupted by the one voice that was guaranteed to send your heart pounding.

 

“Right here.”

 

No word could do justice on the way your body froze in pure terror.

 

_Kyungsoo._

 

“I’m sure your colleague here was just concerned for my well being.”

 

He was right behind you.

 

You clenched your fists and turned around with a trembling, forced smile on your face.

 

“You didn’t arrive at your scheduled check-in, sir, and I was just about to come look for you.” You were barely able to stammer out your words with as little fear in your voice as possible.

 

Jongin was gone. But you wanted your tracks to be as clean as possible, as you had no idea how much they knew.

 

You turned towards Minseok, prepared to give him an inaccurate excuse for your cover.

 

“Minseok, I-” Your attempt to step forward in your co-worker’s direction was abruptly halted as you felt a cold presence on your cheek.

 

Not just a presence…

 

It was _his hand_.

 

Your gaze turned at a painfully slow pace as you faced Kyungsoo’s icy cold glare, staring into your soul with a sinister grin to match.

 

“ _My dear_ ,” His voice chilled you to the bone, “You seem to have something on your face.”

 

The blood- The blood that had spurted on your cheek from the crack in the door.

 

“O-oh, this? I just cut myself in the bathroom.” You surprised yourself with how semi-confident you sounded.

 

“Oh, what a shame.” He leaned in so that you could feel his breath on the tip of your ear. “It’d be  _terrible_ if such beauty like yours were to be marred and ruined, as easy as it would be, so please make sure to be careful from now on.”

 

His face retreated as he backed away from you.

 

“Please take care of me today, (y/n).” Kyungsoo called over his shoulder with his back turned as he strutted towards the rally center.

 

You were breathing heavily as Minseok came up to your side.

 

“Hey, (y/n), I thought part of this job was that our identities stayed anonymous to the client while on duty. Did you ever tell Kyungsoo your name?”

 

You looked at him with an expression that showed how truly terrified you were in that brief moment.

 

“…No, I didn’t.”

* * *

 

 

The rally ended at O’ nine hundred without a hitch, but you  _knew_ something was off. You still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching you. Kyungsoo had ordered that you replace his private guard’s position next to Jongin, so at first you just thought there were other eyes on the candidate that made you this tense. However, as time progressed you could feel something’s- no,  _someone’s_ gaze burning into the pit of your stomach.

 

But the ambush you expected never happened, and before you realized it you were walking with the entire task force to escort the candidate to his next location safely. You remembered your boss telling you that Kyungsoo had another event planned for later that evening.

 

_A dinner party. How convenient._

_  
_

The time between the rally and the scheduled pickup for the formal business dinner allowed you to return to your office to prepare for the event. It went by faster than you had hoped, as you spent all your time trying to come up with a solution to your witness of the next president being involved in the deepest form of corruption imaginable.

 

You jumped as Minseok knocked on the door to your office.

 

“It’s 6pm already?” You asked, masking the terror in your voice.

 

“‘Fraid so, but if it’s any consolation, they’re swapping out guards on duty tomorrow so we’ll be transferred over to Lu Han’s detail.”

 

_Just make it through one goddamn dinner party, (y/n), then you’ll be switched over. That’s simple enough, right?_

_  
_

“Let’s hit the road, then.”

* * *

 

 

 

> **6:58pm**

 

Suffice to say it was  _not_ simple.

 

The event took place in one of the highest floor of a prestigious, seventy-two level skyscraper complex. The gathering was centrally located in a grandiose ballroom that took up the entire level, and three out of the four walls were made of crystalline, twelve-inch thick glass.

 

You and Minseok had received orders to go undercover in the dress of the party, containing over three hundred prestigious political blue collars and their escorts. Since Do Kyungsoo had apparently requested the two of you going incognito last minute, the apparel had been, much to your dismay, previously selected. You shoved a short, white, long sleeved cocktail dress that was way too short for you to be able to properly roundhouse kick anyone. You exited the bathroom, stumbling clumsily on devilishly tall white prada heels as you wiped the corner of your mouth for excess neon red lipstick.

 

_Was this really necessary?_

_  
_

You could find sense in why it would be, though. Kyungsoo’s own security force was there to dissuade anyone from causing a scene, but it was your and Minseok’s were trained to identify and eliminate  _professionals_. Your hair was quickly shoved into sorry excuse for a oriental bun with a clump messily curled in the front to hide your mic that connected your voice to Minseok’s, as well as to HQ. You stationed yourself at the area of the ballroom that contained the bar, getting a scan on the rest of the convention floor space.

 

“(l/n), it’s been fifteen minutes since the beginning of the event and you’ve sent Minseok in to investigate nine different people. You’ll give the guests a reason to panic if you keep this up.” Your earpiece buzzed with the intimidating monotone voice of your boss.

 

“Sorry, sir, I’ll make sure to keep my suspect list to a select few from now on.”

 

This entire event felt  _off_. The feeling of another hidden presence like that from the hotel was here and your instincts were screaming at you that shit was going to go down tonight.

 

“It’s alright, (y/n),” Minseok chirped through the com, “Let’s just swap positions, people respond better to being questioned by an attractive woman anyways.”

 

“Minseok, just wait ‘til you get over here and I swear I’ll-”

 

Your angry words fumbled short as your hand slipped from cloth of the table you were leaning on, causing you to spill the contents of the nearest champagne container all over your arm. The maroon liquid trickled all over your forearm, onto the tablecloth, and onto the floor. The bottle tumbled to its side in the process, beginning to roll off the table. You winced for the oncoming noise of the impact, but a firm hand snatched it gracefully out of the air, mere moments before it made contact with the floor.

 

“Do you usually argue with yourself like that?” You turned to see the well-chiseled face of a young man, probably around your age but a good amount taller than you. You could only give him a blank stare as your mental instincts scanned him for anything out of the ordinary.

 

“Can’t say I’ve had too many girls stare at me like that before.” He saw your peculiar gaze run up and down his figure, smiling as he noticed.

 

He pulled out a handkerchief and tossed it in your direction, which caused you to snap out of your habit.

 

“Huh?- Oh!” You stared at the off-colored liquid streaming down your shoulder and dripping off your hand, quick to wipe it off with the napkin that had been offered to you before the damage could spread to the body of your dress.

 

“Oh, you heard?” Your attempts to sound unflustered were unsuccesful, “I was just talking to myself abo-”

 

The sight of Minseokk making his way across the ballroom floor made you drag out your last word.

 

“- _out_ my boyfriend!” You said a little too cheerily as you ran ahead a few steps to grasp Minseok’s slender, yet firm, arm.

 

“Your  _what_?” the size of Minseok’s eyes tripled.

 

“Don’t be coy,  _dear_ ,” you elbowed him in the ribs with a forced smile. “This man just saved me from causing a horrible accident.”

 

You looked back at the man who had caught the champagne bottle and it surprised you to take in his appearance. You generally weren’t one for looks, but this guy had a mesmerizing aura around him that made his charisma increase exponentially. He had gleaming, balck hair that was gelled to the side, with a glint in his eyes to match. His apparel wasn’t anything spectacular, but his rolled up white dress sleeves extenuated his fit figure. The drifter look was made complete with his slightly unbuttoned shirt and loosened black tie.

 

“And you are?” You attempted to extract some form of information from the stranger.

 

“If we ever meet again, you can call me Lay.” His voice came an octave deeper than you had expected.

 

“Be careful next time, it’d be a shame to ruin such a beautiful thing,” His eyes met yours and he smirked.

 

You responded poorly, becoming thoroughly flustered. Half of you was genuinely being surprised at his sudden compliment.

 

“It’s a Moet, ‘67. A real classic champagne. It would’ve been such a waste,” Lay muttered with a _tsk-tsk_  as he stared at the label of the glass bottle in his hands.

 

“Anyways, have a great night, you two lovebirds,” He called sarcastically over his shoulder as he dodged through the crowd effortlessly.

 

You caught your mouth slightly agape at his asinine joke. While you weren’t searching for compliments from men, you weren’t exactly expecting to get dissed by a handsome stranger.

 

“You feel like explaining something, (y/n)?” Minseok’s eyes were still wide and confused.

 

“Just-” Your gaze tracked the path Lay had taken through the crowd.  “Securing our cover.”

* * *

 

 

> **7:43pm**

 

After the events in the ballroom, you were ordered to watch over Do Kyungsoo’s table from a distance. However, just when you were beginning to ebb away the butterflies in your stomach as the evening was drawing to a close, your worst fears, unfortunately, materialized.

 

The lights went out in a sharp flash, and the party guests cried out in unified confusion and hysteria as security ushered them to get underneath the tables.

 

There’s one way out, but a lot of ways in. You thought as your eyes panned to see the fully-windowed walls encompassing the room, keeping your hand on the back of your thigh in case you needed to draw out your weapon.

 

The security team was already ushering guests towards the exit, leaving Kyungsoo temporarily unattended at his table.

 

There was the sound of a glass bottle shattering across the floor, then silence.

 

The only sound you could hear was your own breathing as you drew your gun, scrambling to make out an intruder in the darkness. Before you could exhale your last breath an arm came around your neck violently, pulling you away from Do Kyungsoo’s dinner table. You leaned forward, wrapped your ankle around the assaulter’s shin, and with a forceful exertion of energy, threw them over your shoulder, using their newfound lack of balance against them. Quicker than your reflexes could react, they were back on their feet, but instead of engaging you they ran straight for the candidate. Your candidate. You sprinted after him across the thinly carpeted ground and just as he drew a handgun from his belt, you were on top of him, legs climbing up from his torso to his neck where you had the vantage point. You dug your elbow into his Adam’s apple, causing him to fall backwards in shock. You took the few moments of time you had to run to Kyungsoo’s side, positioning yourself between the path of the attacker and his target, gun drawn in defense.

 

“Mr. Kyungsoo, sir, please stay close to me and do not come out from behind my back.” You barked your orders in a hushed tone with the assertion of a full-blooded hunting dog.

 

A  _tsk-tsk_  from Kyungsoo behind you caught you off guard and made every muscle in your body tense.

 

“My dear, I don’t think you know how this works.”

 

In the blink of eye you had your handgun snatched from your grip and your right arm positioned at an unnatural angle between your shoulder blades. You felt the cold metal of the barrel against the tender skin of your neck.

 

“Drop the gun, or she dies,” Kyungsoo’s voice commanded into the darkness.

 

_Son of a bi-_

_  
_

Your gaze centered and you saw the attacker from before only a few yards away from you and Kyungsoo, who was now, apparently, holding you hostage.

 

“And what ounce of justification would you have for believing she means anything to me?” An amused, low growl erupted unexpectedly from the attacker. He didn’t lower his gun in the slightest, as you expected.

 

“Sir, you’re thinking irrationally-”

 

“Take a hint, dollface, and shut the hell up,” Kyungsoo’s deep voice silenced you, sounding terrifyingly calm. He dug your elbow further into the small of your back, making you wince in pain as he answered the intruder. “I know how you Couriers work. You get the job done by whatever means you see fit, but wouldn’t dare involve anyone else. It’s how your work is kept sharp and tidy, and your hands clean, and why so many people look to hire you.”

 

_Oh, no… He’s one of them?_

You had only heard about Couriers through the rumors floating around your training courses in the Blue House.

 

“If it’s a choice between civilian’s livelihood or the job I’ve been requested to undertake, her life is inconsequential to me.” The Courier’s voice remained assertive and unwavering from behind his mask.

 

“Let’s test that theory, then, shall we?”

 

Noise travels slower than the course of a bullet.

 

You learned this the hard way as Kyungsoo lowered the barrel of the gun to your left thigh, pulling the trigger without a second’s hesitation.

 

Before you could recognize what was going on, you were gasping in pain, ready to fall to the floor if it wasn’t for Kyungsoo’s painfully sturdy arms holding you up.

 

“For old times sake, I’ll give you til the count of three before I put the next bullet in a place with a much more gruesome outcome.” Kyungsoo’s voice growled from right behind your ear.

 

“Three.”

 

You’re body trembled from the gunshot wound, beginning to go into shock.

 

“Two-”

 

The countdown was cut off abruptly with the shriek of pierced class, and with it, sharp, needle-like pain through your left shoulder. You fell to the ground like a rag doll.

 

“Who says Couriers follow the rules?” You heard the menacing voice sound once more from in front of you.

 

You pulled yourself up using your right arm to see Do Kyungsoo leaning against the table’s countertop, clutching his right shoulder. The path of a bullet went straight through your left collarbone and into his chest.

 

 _A sniper? Are you_ kidding  _me?_

_  
_

The Courier looked down at you, and you could’ve sworn he was trying to speak to you, but your attempts to make out any strand of words proved useless. Kyungsoo had stumbled to the recesses of the blackened room for cover, and in turn, the Courier casually walked towards the exit, promptly halting right outside the door to prevent all forms of escape.

 

The ringing in your ears shifted from right to left, upsetting your balance as you tried to stand up. Hearing slowly returned to the rest of your senses as you grabbed the handle of the closest chair for support.

 

“Sta-… Down.” You could hardly make out what someone was yelling at you.

 

_Someone was yelling?_

 

“I said get down!” The shout was all too clear this time, as you noticed a tiny red spec flickering on your collarbone.

 

Before your reflexes had the second needed to react, you felt the force of a car slam into your gut, sending you crashing to the ground with the weight of another body on top of you.

 

Not a millisecond later another plink had sounded through the glass, as a bullet whizzed in the trajectory following directly where you had been standing.

 

_Did someone just-_

_  
_

“You idiot!”

 

The Courier had pushed you. And now he was looking at you directly in the eyes.

 

_The eyes…_

_  
_

Your gazes met for a brief moment before he quickly shoved you across the floor and held his index finger to his ear.

 

“Chanyeol! You weren’t supposed to shoot his goddamn bodyguard!” He turned around to see Kyungsoo making a dash for the exit, cursing as he witnessed his escape via the staircase that you knew was just outside. You caught the remnants of his conversation with the person on the other side of his coms as he stood up beside you.

 

“Not everything in this room is a target, you idiot, especially when that thing is a female guard!” He asserted with his hand still held up to his ear. “No doubt they already have your location, so meet me out front as soon as you can. If this guy gets outside it’ll be too late, so I’m trusting you to take care of it while I clean up this mess.”

 

_This mess?_

 

You shuddered, partially from blood loss, but mostly from realization.

 

_Me._

 

Your actions grew feeble as you attempted to scoot further away from the Courier who had his back turned to you. The dark outline of objects in the room becoming less definite in your vision. Your attempt to stand up and run towards the exit was futile as you quickly lost balance and collapsed back down onto the floor. Your breathing become rapid and unsteady and you saw the Courier make his way towards you with a steady pace. 

 

You were ready to accept the outcome of your fate, but your thoughts faded into darkness before you could witness it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’ve been so inactive you guys! I hope this can tide you guys over until I get back from college visits~ This was a draft I’ve had in my docs since the dawn of time and didn’t even realize it still existed until a week ago. When I was brainstorming for this story apparently I was evil and planned a butt ton of plot twists?? Thank you, old-self, I might just use these. Please tell me what you guys think of this first chapter!!
> 
> I also apologize for typos, I’m having to post this super quick and didn’t have time to proof. Let me know if I massively screwed anything up!
> 
> ~Nunchi


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Blood, violence, language, guns

_…Beep…_

_…Beep…_

_…Beep…_

 

Before you could open your eyes, the repetitive sound of a hospital monitor reverberated in your head, the monotonous drone of it quickly unsettling you.

 

_Why am I-_

 

The soft, yet unpleasant sound of metal screeching against metal caused you to force your eyelids open, presenting you with the blurry image of a male nurse making his way through the doorway with a small metal cart.

 

Your head jerked up, wincing at the bright intensity of the overhead lights as you examined the cramped hospital room you found yourself in.

 

“How are you feeling, miss?” The nurse’s words rang in your head, causing it to throb.

 

“I’m- I’m-” You struggled to get a single word out of your system as your throat contracted dryly.

 

The nurse pulled up alongside the hospital bed and began to fumble with the medical instruments that lay sprawled out on his cart. “It’s alright, your senses will come back to you slowly. The IV you have right now should help with the pain.”

 

_An IV?_

 

Glancing down, a thin tube that protruded from your forearm confirmed the nurse’s statement.

 

“What- how-… Why am I here?” You brought your other hand to your hair, scratching your head in confusion.

 

Turning your head back to face the nurse, your heart lept into your throat. Upon reexamination, the staff-member didn’t seem much like a typical staff-member at all.. As your vision began to focus itself, the nurse’s hulking biceps and rippling muscles told your nerves that this man was significantly over-qualified to be working as a medical assistant. Lifting your gaze, you noticed the beginnings of a sinister tattoo along the man’s neck, the extent of its length as well as the design was obscured by the green medical scrubs. You squinted your eyes, drifting your vision all over the man’s body to get a read on who exactly was in the room with you. As he turned around from his cart, your colored, exhausted eyes met his black, beady ones.

 

_Something’s not right._

 

“Don’t worry about anything now miss, you’re  _safe_.”

 

“Excuse me?” You struggled to keep lifting your eyelids as they seemed to get heavier with every passing second.

 

The man began to fill an emptied syringe with an ominously viscous liquid.

 

“This will help you go back to sleep,” Your vision waned as the beginnings of a sinister smile crept its way onto the corners of the man’s lips. “Just relax.”

 

As soon as the needle pricked your forearm, your instincts went into overdrive. Before he could begin pressing the tip of the needle through your skin, releasing the liquid into your system, your other arm leapt into action and gripped the man’s wrist, freezing his motions.

 

“What are you doing?” Your eyes widened in confusion and fear.

 

“I said,” The man’s eyes narrowed maliciously, “ _Relax_.”

 

It all happened in a flash. Using his other hand, the nurse ripped your hand from his wrist, moving quickly to wrap his large fingers around your throat, effectively pinning your head against the bed. The adrenaline rushed into your system immediately, bodyguard reflexes kicking in. You ripped the I.V. out of your other arm, and before your much-larger opponent could react, you kicked your leg over the side of the bed, over his arm. While his arm was temporarily pinned underneath your leg, you grabbed his wrist with both hands, quickly twisting it at an unnatural angle with a resounding  _snap_. The syringe dropped from the man’s now-broken wrist as he cursed loudly and fell to his knees. You didn’t give him time to recuperate before you sat up, grabbing the rails of the hospital bed and swinging your other leg over using your body weight to land a roundhouse kick to the man’s face. His head jerked to the side, but you were unrelenting, the fight for survival pulsing through your veins. You quickly hopped off the bed and grabbed the man’s head with both of your hands before bringing it down harshly to come into brutal contact with your knee. A definitive  _crack_ signified that the man’s nose had suffered a resulting fracture of some sort.

 

You didn’t stick around long enough to check, however, because you used the time you had acquired to your advantage. You scanned the apparel of your attacker as he writhed on the ground in pain. Your breath hitched as you saw a glinting black object attached to a clip on the back of his pants.

 

_A gun._

 

This person definitely wasn’t playing around. He was after you.

 

Before you delayed any longer in thought, you bent down and snatched the man’s handgun, detaching it from its clip. The weight felt heavy in your palms. Definitely a larger make and model than what you were used to handling. You quickly turned on your heels, sprinting towards the door and swinging it open. The brightness in the halls was at least ten times as bright as it was within your cramped hospital room. But no one was there.

 

Still nauseated, you put your weight against the wall as you scrambled towards the end of the hall, nearing the exit staircase. The only noise that accompanied you was that of your labored breathing and the consistent one-two slapping sound of your bare feet against the cold tile floors.

 

_I have to find help. I have to find Minseok._

Once you reached the end of the hall, you heaved the exit door open, the bulking weight of it causing your arm to falter. Once it was flung open just enough for you to slide through, you pushed past it, continuing to throw yourself down the stairs as fast as you possibly could without tripping. Keeping the gun close to your body, you pressed your back to the doorway at the end of the stairs, tilting your head to peek through the window.

 

Men. Wearing all black. Standing in a cluster near the lobby desk.

 

 _Shit._ You cursed as you saw yourself out of options.

 

As the men’s attentions were elsewhere, you pressed your back further against the doorbar, slowly opening it. Once there was a slit large enough for your body to fit, you darted through it, remaining light on your feet as you slid against the wall to avoid detection. You rounded the corner successfully, pressing your back against its coolness and taking a deep breath.

 

You continued down the vacant hallway, keeping a firm grip on the gun as you passed several in-patient rooms. You saw elevators at the end of the hall, but due to the inevitability of security cameras, you quickly opted for the emergency staircase. Your mind went fuzzy after struggling to count the number of floors you were descending, losing count after thirteen.

 

After your legs threatened to buckle underneath you, you arrived at the ground level. Heaving a sigh of relief, you pressed the bulking door open, being immediately blinded by the sudden brightness. Once your eyes adjusted, you saw the glass doors of the lobby entrance. You inadvertently smiled as you made your way to the exit, making sure to stay out of the desk worker’s eyesight. The smile faded, however, as you rounded the corner, only to find four men, all in black suits, waiting in position just outside the doors.

 

They were waiting for you.

 

One of the men turned around, stretching. His face morphing from carelessness to surprise instantly.

 

“She’s in there!” You could hear the guard’s yells, muffled from the other side of the glass walls.

 

Your blood ran cold.

 

Taking a few steps back in shock, you turned on your heels, sprinting up the lobby stairs as the group of black-suited men forced their way past the glass doors.

 

“Oh my god!-”

 

“Is that a gun?!”

 

The medical staff’s surprised gasps did little to redirect your attention as you ran through the occupied lobby space. Everyone’s heads were turned. You needed to find an exit.

 

Gunshots sounded behind you, causing you to duck subconsciously. Glass walls and vases shattered on all sides, ushering you to run faster. Your feet ached and burned against the cool tile of the hospital floor, yet you were solely focused on running for your life. More gunshots echoed across the halls, shadowed by the panicked screams of civilians.

 

Just as you neared the end of the lobby, another shot resounded through the air. Almost immediately after, you felt a tight prick at the back of your neck. Your legs faltered slightly, giving you pause as you instantly brought your hand to the source of the pain. You felt a thin metal object between your fingers. Pulling it from its rooted spot on the nape of your neck, you brought it to your face.

 

A tranquilizer.

 

You threw the dart to the floor, quickly hastening your pace as you rounded the hallway. They were still behind you, closing the distance, yet your feet felt as though they were made of lead. A numbing sensation crept from the balls of your feet up to your calves, then past your knees, and you were slowly losing control of your legs entirely. You shook the feeling away as best you could, seeing a neon red exit sign at the end of the hall you had turned into.

 

_Almost there._

 

Your vision began to wane in and out of focus, lens flares burning their way past your eyes with an intense brightness.

 

_Almost there._

You were leaning against the wall now, your hands fumbling to find holding while simultaneously struggling to keep a firm grip on the handgun. You could hear the footsteps getting nearer.

 

_Almost th-_

An instinctual scream was cut from you as two firm hands reached from behind the cover of a utility closet towards you. At the same time an arm snaked around your waist at lighting speed, ripping you from your intended path of travel, another hand was placed at your mouth to silence you.  In the blink of an eye, you were enclosed in darkness. The door to the closet was quickly shut despite your frantic struggling, and your eyes widened as you saw the men in black run right past it. Once your pursuers had passed, you thought quickly. With your legs still immobile, you jabbed your attacker in the ribs using your elbow, using the inch of leverage gained to push away from them. Feeling hands grasp at your hips again, you lurched forward, flipping on the light switch.

 

Your attacker was temporarily stunned at the immediate brightness, and you used that fraction of a second to turn around, pressing your back against the door and aiming the barrel of your gun for whoever it was that had snatched you.

 

The man was a few steps away from you as he straightened himself. He wore only black pants, a tight black t-shirt, and a black ball cap that obscured his face. As he stood to his full height, however, you couldn’t stop yourself from letting a gasp escape you.

 

“You’re the-” You staggered for balance as searing pain was sent straight to your head. You quickly shook it off and tightened your grip around the gun. “You’re the guy from the hotel.”

 

His dark hair fell into his eyes, despite wearing a cap. Unlike his charismatic charm at the party, however, his facial expression remained deathly stern.

 

“It’s Lay,” Your focus blurred, vision becoming hazy once again. “Right?”

 

He took one step towards you, remaining silent.

 

“Don’t come any closer,” You threatened, your voice firm. “I’m prepared to shoot.”

 

Another step closer.

 

“I mean it!” You tried to sound as assertive as you could, yet the numbness was now spreading up your torso to your arms, causing your handle on the gun to tremble. “S-Stay back.”

 

Another step.

 

His chest was pressed up against the tip of your gun now, his dark eyes looking down at you emotionlessly.

 

“I’m serious-” You slurred, as all feeling in your legs was completely lost. You swayed, losing your balance. “I’m… I’ll…”

 

You were no longer in control of your own body. The drug you had been injected with had now taken to your bloodstream, rendering your nerves completely useless. Your fingers went numb against the grip of the gun, causing it to drop to the floor noisily. You slumped to the side, helpless to stop yourself from falling over. As you began to fall, however, you felt firm hands at your waist and shoulders, holding you upright. You forced your leaded eyelids open, looking up to see the man’s face, still stern, yet rendering the beginnings of a smile at the corner of his lips.

 

“Let’s getcha out of here.” He huffed.

 

In one fluid motion, your legs were picked up from underneath you, leaving you bridal style in the arms of the stranger.

 

You winced as the door to the closet was kicked open, white light leaving a painful imprint on your lenses. Despite your less-than-average build, the man’s arms remained unfaltering as he carried you down the hallway at a hastened pace. After kicking open the exit door at the end of the hall, your skin was quick to develop goosebumps. You shivered as the cold wind blew across your bare arms and legs shrewdly. Inadvertently, you tucked your head closer into the man’s chest as he continued to keep a steady pace. Your thoughts of fighting off the cold, however, were cut short, as the sound of gunshots returned, deafeningly close this time. Your ears stung as the man carrying you began to run, but it wasn’t long before he halted altogether. The sound of a car door opening was quickly followed by your cold, numb frame being delicately deposited into the back seat of a vehicle. More gunshots followed as he closed the door, running to the front to hop in the driver’s seat.

 

Judging by the way time seemed to slow around you, you knew you wouldn’t be awake for much longer. Your ears rang painfully as gunshots littered the windows of the car, glass beginning to fly in all directions as the driver flew out of the parking lot at a maniacal speed. You saw him turn around, a PP-K with a silencer attached in-hand as he fired through the back windshield at your pursuers.

 

He had taken his hat off, and as he leaned back in the seat to shoot at the enemy vehicles, you were able to truly recognize his face.

 

It  _was_ the man from the gala. The one that had caught the champagne bottle you spilled.

 

As the darkness closed around your field of vision, you realized that while you had no idea what the hell was going on, you were certain of one thing.

 

You were in  _deep_ shit now.

 

You awoke with a start to the sole, droning noise of a box fan. As you jerked up, however, you were met with an intense, overarching soreness that caused you to bite the inside of your cheek subconsciously.

 

 _Everything_ hurt.

 

You blinked several times to adjust your focus, and found yourself in some sort of dimly lit garage. Your immediate instinct to reach down and rub away the stiffness in your ankles was suspended, as you felt your hands bound tightly against one another behind your back with zip ties. Their tightness left no wiggle room, the plastic already beginning to rub and slice at the raw skin of your wrists. Just when you began to adjust to your surroundings, you looked down at yourself and let out a short gasp in shock.

 

You were no longer wearing the white hospital smock.

 

Instead, your torso was enveloped in an oversized, coal-colored hoodie that smelled faintly of gasoline and cologne. You glanced down to see you were also adorning orange boxer shorts that rode up your thighs.

 

_How the hell-?_

“Yes sir, that’s affirmative.”

 

Your thoughts were silenced as you heard a deep voice speak from across the room. Peering around the cluttered garage, you noticed an opaque sheet that symbolized some sort of construction was set up several feet away from you. There was an overhead lamp the hung just beyond view of the sheet; it’s light giving you a very definitive silhouette of a man that stood behind it. Presumably, the man that had taken you from the hospital.

 

The man who appeared at the gala.

 

“She’s here.” Your heart dropped at the mention of your presence. There was a moderate pause.

 

“No, sir, I don’t think termination is necessary.”

 

Your breath hitched.

 

“But sir-”

 

Another stretch of silence followed.

 

“Yes sir. I understand.”

 

You realized you needed to find a way out of there.

 

 _Now_.

 

Quickly scrambling to your feet, you stayed low to the ground, careful to make as little noise as possible to not be heard over the low drone of the box fan. The conversation your abductor was having on the phone slowly faded indiscernibly as you slowly walked away from his silhouette. Before you stayed a second longer to hear the end of their dispute, you darted past the concrete wall that isolated you from the rest of the full-story garage. Breaking out into a run, you made a beeline for the white light at the end of the empty parking lot. You struggled to maintain balance with your hands being awkwardly bound behind you, yet despite this, and the excruciating ache you felt in your bare feet, you continued to sprint towards the light. You took in a deep breath as you made it to the glass door, and only after looking over your shoulder to confirm no one was chasing you did you release it.

 

Your relief was short-lived, however, as the door was locked and bolted shut from the outside. Your groaned in frustration. Scanning the ground for any form of leverage or key, you sighed in relief at the sight of a pair of technical pliers sprawled near the foot of the door. You were quick to kneel down and take them into your fingers, biting your lip as you struggled to twist your hands in such a way that permitted the blade of the pliers to slice into your restraints. Clenching your teeth as the zip tie was finally snapped in half, you then stood up and rubbed the red lines that had formed at your wrists.

 

Looking quickly in both directions, you noticed an out-of-service elevator, along with a set of concrete stairs, to your right. Shaking off the ache in your step, you bolted for the staircase, skipping several stairs as you escalated it as quickly as you could.

 

Once you reached the top floor, you scanned the new setting. It was, indeed, an old parking garage. One that had been out of business for quite some time, as the ticket gate was barred off, and a metal grate was brought down to block the drive-in entrance. You squinted and realized that the ticketing booth had an office, one that, by the looks of it, had a phone inside.

 

You wasted no time in sprinting for the office. The cool blue that lit up the deserted garage told you that it was early morning, before dawn. The chilly air caused goosebumps to form on your legs, yet the large hoodie you wore kept your top half sealed in warmth.

 

_Is this sweatshirt his?_

 

You shook away the thought as you approached the door to the ticketing office. You tried the door and almost instantly huffed in annoyance.

 

Of course it was locked.

 

Using your hands as a visor, you peered into the small glass enclosure. Papers and files were in disarray, and although your eyes found the landline that could be used to signal for help, your vision locked onto an item much more powerful.

 

There was a pistol, lying ominously at rest on the desk amidst the trash and clutter.

 

You needed to get in, and quickly, before your captor realized your absence. You groaned and ran your fingers through your hair in frustration.

 

A key, find a key.

 

Stumbling backwards in haste, your eyes scanned the surrounding area. You walked up and down the sidewalk, scrutinizing every desk, post, and trash bin you could for anything that resembled a key. After a full minute of searching, you began to panic.

 

_It’s been too long. He knows I’m gone by now. It’ll only be a matter of time before-_

In the midst of your frantic search, your eyes grazed over a thick metal object. After doing a quick double-take, you quickly knelt down and picked it up.

 

A crow bar.

 

You skipped back over to the door and positioned yourself like a baseball player beside it.

 

_This’ll no doubt make a hideous amount of noise… But I’m out of options._

 

Sucking in a deep breath, you swung both arms towards the glass pane of the door with tremendous force. You instinctively closed your eyes shut upon impact, as the glass shattered and pooled at your feet.

 

You knew you had a minute, maximum, to dial the phone for help, and as such, wasted no time in reaching your hand through the broken glass to unlock the door. The glass sliced through the skin of your forearm, leaving blood to trail down to your fingertips, but you ignored it, as well as the shreds of glass digging into your feet, opening the door and reaching for the pistol instantly. You pushed your back against the back corner of the office as you picked up the black telephone from its mount on the wall, keeping the pistol close to your chest and pointed towards the door.

 

“Come on, come on, come on,” You whined, dialing the number of the security bureau of the Blue House.

 

“Come on,” You begged as you held the phone up to your ear. “ _Please_.”

 

At the sound of a human voice at the other end, you nearly cried out in relief.

 

“Hello? Hello?! I-”

 

“ _I’m sorry, but your call was unable to connect to its destination, we suggest you hang up, check your connection, and dial again._ ”

 

_No… No, no, no, no-_

“Eighteen minutes and twenty-two seconds.”

 

You whipped around and pointed the gun directly at the source of the foreign voice. Your blood ran cold at the sight of your abductor, still clad in casual black, leaning against the doorpost whilst focused on the watch at his wrist.

 

“Stay back, I mean it this time.” You commanded. “I may have been drugged before, but I can assure you I’m fully conscious now, and I am not afraid to shoot.”

 

“To be honest, I thought you’d be quicker.” He scoffed, his tone careless.

 

His eyes met yours and you wanted to kick yourself for finding him charming and attractive at the hotel gala.

 

“What are you talking about?” Your eyes narrowed.

 

“Well,” He stood up straight, resting his forearm against the opposite doorpost. “I was expecting you to get here using the tools I laid out much faster than you did. I must say I’m increasingly underwhelmed.”

 

Your eye twitched in annoyance.

 

 _He… Set all of this up? And he was undermining you? He_ had  _to be the same guy you met before._

 

“Listen,  _Lay_ , is it?”

 

He perked up at the mention of his name, seemingly more attentive as you continued.

 

“I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I most certainly am  _not_ going to just sit around and wait for you, or someone else involved in this fucked up conspiracy, to come and kill me.” Your heart leapt into your throat as you spoke aloud your immediate fears, tightening your grip on the pistol as you kept it aimed at Lay’s heart.

 

“Who said anything about killing?” Lay scoffed, appearing offended.

 

He pushed off from the doorpost and stepped inside the tiny office.

 

“I’m not playing around,” Your voice lowered aggressively, and you felt as though you were being treated like a cornered animal.

 

Keeping a straight face, Lay continued to step closer.

 

You chambered the round.

 

“I’m serious, I won’t hesitate.”

 

But you already were.

 

You had never actually shot someone, let alone killed a man.

 

But he was already too close for it to matter.

 

Closing your eyes, your hands trembled as you finger squeezed shakily on the trigger. You tensed your shoulders, awaiting the destructive gunshot that was sure to deafen you. With resolute self-affirmation, you pulled the trigger. Hard.

 

_Click._

 

No kickback. No smoke. No gunshot.

 

You opened your eyes in shock and examined the gun.

 

It wasn’t loaded.

 

Your eyes reverted to look in front of you, and you gasped as Lay’s body was now flush against yours.

 

“You sure are a piece of work.” His jaw clenched as he spoke. “You originally weren’t part of the deal.”

 

“W-What deal?” You stuttered. You were at his mercy, now.

 

“Listen,” His eyes hardened, and he placed his hand on the glass wall behind you, pinning you in place. “I have no intention of killing, or harming you. My objective lies with my contractor, and as of now, you aren’t the target.”

 

“Forgive me if I’m not so reassured,” You met his gaze warily, aware of how vulnerable you were.

 

Lay smirked. “If I wanted to kill you, don’t you think I’d have already done it? Given the numerous chances I’ve had.”

 

You swallowed the hard lump in your throat.

 

“Come with me,” He backed away from you, turning on his heels and heading for the door. “There’s quite a bit of explaining to do-”

 

He paused at the doorway.

 

“And I  _suggest_  you think twice about point a gun at me,  _ever again_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!~ I guess this week is the week for things I’ve shoved under the rug… I apologize for the terrible action sequences. 99% of the remotely interesting plots I come up with involve so much action and I am terrible at writing action, so I often question why I hate myself this much… oh well… I hope this chapter kept you guys hooked! and thank you for over 200 notes on chapter one like HOW TF DID THAT HAPPEN? IT’S SO THROWN TOGETHER X___X ily guys~
> 
> ~Nunchi <3

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr too [@nunchiwrites](https://nunchiwrites.tumblr.com)!!


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